BERLIN: Xabi Alonso was sent off as ten-man Bayern Munich missed the chance to go 10 points clear in the Bundesliga after being held to a lacklustre scoreless draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Spain midfielder Alonso saw red after earning two second-half bookings in quick succession at the BayArena.

Having brought down junior German international Julian Brandt in the second-half, a tactical foul on Leverkusen’s star striker Javi Hernandez saw Alonso sent off.

Bayern pushed for a winner even after Alonso’s sending off, but Robert Lewandowski in particular was left to rue near misses.

The Bavarians, nevertheless, stayed eight points clear at the top of the table with 53 points, while Leverkusen are fifth on 32.

HERTHA HOLD DORTMUND

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund failed to gain ground on Bayern following their own goalless draw at Hertha Berlin earlier on Saturday despite the return of midfielder Marco Reus and playmaker Ilkay Guendogan.

With former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho in the stands as a guest of Dortmund, surprise package Hertha, third on 35 points, refused to buckle.

Schalke 04 defeated VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 to move to fourth, two points behind Hertha, thanks to goals from Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Johannes Geis, and Alessandro Schoepf.

Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart won at Eintracht Frankfurt 4-2 to move five points clear of the relegation zone, Ingolstadt came from behind to defeat Augsburg 2-1, and Mainz won at bottom side Hannover 96 1-0.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2016